Now with more nog

A month since my last blog post? Ah life, you son of a bitch. You got in my way of blogging.

We've been transitioning into Christmas mode around here, buying and decorating a tree, hanging garland 'round the mantle and colored lights on our front fence, and reading -nay, singing - Jingle Bells (the book) to Edie. She is really getting into the spirit, and when she sees Christmas lights around the neighborhood, she shouts, "Christmas!" followed by, "I want to see monsters". (Apparently she's still hanging on to the Halloween spirit as well.)

I am now five months pregnant, which is going pretty well. It is safe to say I've adopted maternity pants and elastic-waist skirts, but I still try to look cute for work in blazers, pins, scarfs, and whatnot. I really want to wear yoga pants to the office, but I believe that's frowned upon. I unearthed my former maternity wardrobe, and can only hope that the hormones impacted my fashion judgement during the third trimester. Has fashion really changed that much since 2010? I vow to never wear some of that stuff again.

Pregnant ladies do get a wardrobe pass, however. No one is gonna talk smack if I wear the same skirt twice in one week. If they do, I place a curse on their firstborn.

Speaking of which, have you ever read traditional folktales to your kids? This includes Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Three Little Pigs, and Rapunzel. My mom has "Three Minute Bedtime Stories" at their house, and I read it to Edie. I was aghast at all the child-snatching, fang-toothed wolves, and lonely cursed lives under the shade of the forest. Furthermore, most villains die gruesome deaths by way of boiling pots of water or being pushed into ovens. Those are some messed up stories, and I'm much happier reading stuff like "I'm Dirty" or "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear". Children's lit has come a long way since 1812.

Edie and I took a road trip to Waltham this weekend for the Edmands' annual Christmas party. (Unfortunately, Dave couldn't join us because he is finishing a final paper.) We got there in 1.5 hours (a personal record, thanks Speed Pass). Michelle had set up a kids' craft table and a spread of holiday food and drink.

The party has been going on for about 10 years now, and it has evolved to accommodate all the families with kiddos. Although we still socialize and have fun, they rule the early evening. Once they tucker out, we drink wine and faux beer, gossip, and eat the most delicious apple dumplings ever! I fell asleep at 10:30. I'm a real party animal, rarr!

We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas in our home, especially now that Edie is excited. She doesn't know enough to ask for presents yet, but she did fancy some Disney Princess sparkly, light-up sneakers at Marshall's yesterday. I tried to get her excited about a pair of gender neutral blue Osh Kosh shoes, but she was not interested at all. She kept saying, "How about these ones?" to the sparkles, and I wondered, Is this when I start bowing to her 2-year old tastes? Luckily, she wanted her own shoes back on, so I dodged that bullet. At least for this week.